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I was somewhere a while back and seen a TB with a Maxstar, that could be great for something like that, men working ahead, coming back with big ole rod and welding a gob on. I assume you set top rail, then hang ladder jig to set rods?

Sberry you are repeatedly hammering the guy for trying to use a (very) cheap machine thru whatever is the best means possible and suggested several times that a new machine is the real answer.
May be and may not be.
I remember a few years ago you were building a wood? burning outdoor furnace to help heat your house. I was interested in the idea.
But taking your current stance, you should of just got a store bought furnace, same arguements apply: cheap, tax breaks, warantee, efficient, easy, plug & play.
Could be a wood burner, pellet burner, gas burner.
Why go to all the trouble to make one?

I think you see my feeble point. Just because. Differn't strokes for differn't folks.
Everybody has to have a hobby. And in the current economic state of running a welding business, saved $ are saved $, it's a harsh bidding environment right now and has been for years. Many have gone under, several I personally know of due to higher than needed overhead, based on buying new.
I buy a new stuff when it really makes sense or is my only option but I also kill em at the pawn shops and auctions when appropriate.

And, are you still running the home made furnace? How is it working? I'm building a passive/semi passive solar collector to heat my shack at night, but my climate is way different than yours (brrr).

JT

on edit I'll add that I understand your point of view, and that differing takes can be helpfull even if not followed. But everybody's situation and outlook differs from yours and mine.
I get a kick out of people making something out of nothing, wish I could do it more often.

Yes, I am still using it and am making another one, a safer version. The old is comfy but once a guy adds some jacket and a couple other issues I faced the possibilities arise,, not much of an issue for a stand alone stove. I really was tempted to look harder for a used add a furnace and you are correct that I should just buy one and get on with it, would be cheaper isn some respects considering my bills go on while I stare at design options. It ranks right up there with root canal, I really dont care much for building them, very tedious, at first it looks like you are making blazing progress,,, then it slows up. All the details and interference issues.

Another project not practical for everyone. ha,,, someties not myself. My bud got a used beauty a while back for 50$ someone wanted out,,, not to be found when needed though,, I suspect in this neck of woods would face the same issue if looking for the 200 to convert.

Someone

My apologies for not keeping up here... it's been a very busy summer...

Many posts back, someone inquired as to how many I've done...

Right now, I'm working on a later model CP300, and an Airco that looks to be late '70's vintage. The Airco uses a similar transformer, however, uses buck/boost windings rather than the CP's sliding-commutator tap setup.

The CP-300 is for all practical purposes, identical to the 200... but I set it aside to do testing on the Airco, as I have a buddy that bought a bunch of them at auction with the intention of scrapping, but came to me to see if they'd be single-phase capable, so the CP300 is waiting it's turn.

But to answer the original question... I've done 11 CP200's on my own... the most recent just finished off a 40lb spool.

I've done the same conversion on the SRH-333 (and it's a NICE, STABLE ARC!)... and I did spend some time trying to get the CP-250TS to fly... and it would do spray-mode, but would NOT settle down and do short-arc... but it wasn't designed for short-arc to begin with, so I'm not heartbroken... I just don't spend much time spray-mode into 5/8" plate... so it got rolled to the back of the barn.

Now, there's probably 70 guys that I assisted, either through direct appearance, or telephone and email help, that did CP-series conversions, and I get oh, probably ten to twelve thank-you emails a year from guys that have.

I DID get two inquiries this summer, about a 208/230v ONLY CP200, which I did not realize existed... and I'll be trading the 230/480 CP200 supply in my shop for a 208/230 that a guy bought, and bring that one to the shop to see if I can affect a conversion on it.

I also helped out a guy that had one that was made for 200/230/460 (again, a combination I wasn't aware of)... and he just gave it the smoke-test today, with it wired per the diagram, and he also tried using the 200v taps to get it to fly WITHOUT doing the delta-wye flip on the output side. For some reason, it wasn't happy doing that, so he switched it back, but took photos of his connections prior to changing it back, so I've got an opportunity to look and see if there was a connection error somewhere.

But there's plenty out there.

And as much as the technology has brought us many cool lunchbox welders, getting one that will stomp out 200A continuous duty... or even getting one that has a duty cycle anywhere over 50%, is pretty hard. I've got two lunchboxes, and I run fluxcore in 'em, it's great for situations when I have to assemble something in-situ to get proper alignment, then dismantle and lift it out, then bring it into the shop for finish welding.

My point remains- putting the CP-200 up against anything in similar physical size (an Autoset 250, for example), the CP-200, even if acquired with an old, but useable wire feeder, for $400, will STILL outperform the new machine, and at a small fraction of the investment. One who's willing to make a small investment in time and effort, can easily wind up with a grand in extra funds to help provide other equipment for the shop. When it's personal projects and hobby work, that constitutes a huge chunk of resources. If it's a professional shop where welding is NOT the primary function (i.e., the investment cost cannot be written off), it STILL constitutes a huge savings of resources... and the side-benefit, is one serious welding machine... something that can easily withstand being passed from one operator's hands, to the next, shift-after-shift, and not melt down.